These are callable :-( This is the first time I hear of callable CU/bank CDs. Oh well... From same blog entry: "The Credit Union has the right to call or redeem Certificate Accounts early. To call or redeem your Certificate Account early, the Credit Union will provide 60 days written notice to ...

(I know this is an older post but in other threads I did not see this mentioned either)... another difference according to Vanguard site:- VFIDX is actively managed- VICSX is passively managed (and tracking Barclays U.S. 5–10 Year Corporate Bond Index)

Thanks Alan, Leeraar. I guess I should have just sent it in with a letter, but now I feel like I have to add 1040X too - not a big deal, since filling it out is very easy per their instructions - just basic info at the top, and some simple text explanation box which I would have put in a letter anyw...

I also have an issue with incorrect basis I had reported last year and it did not affect last years taxes or really any numbers outside of the form. I emailed IRS asking whether I need to file 1040X or new 8606 is sufficient. In short, they said to file 1040X as well since I filed 1040, even though ...

^Well, I can show you actual calculated values to show that it does get within a couple of basis points for quite a few years of returns I looked at for two Vanguard bond funds, but even if I did that, we'd still agree that we can't rely on it. Kevin Hi Kevin, I found my older post where I had desc...

Yahoo's adjusted close price cannot be used to get total return actually; at least if you try to use it directly via (AdjPriceEnd - AdjPriceStart) / AdjPriceStart. I think if you dig into how they compute it, you will find it does not work. And yes, I have seen a lot of issues with their data reliab...

As a side thing to consider - between Jan and April you could invest for both last year and current year, putting in 11k (if 5.5k per year) every 2 years. Of course, you still have to file tax forms @5.5k/year and designate your contributions properly but if your transfers could be happening once ev...

To add to what avalpert said, just because there will always be a need for doctors, does not mean *investing* in that sector will outperform total market. It does not means that profits in healthcare sector will keep up with rest of total market either. As was mentioned, it could easily become much ...

possibility of lower tax rates in the future, due to state tax changes (moving), high medical expenses/deductions despite high income, lowered future income taxes (ha!), etc. You forgot the most important one... possibility of lower tax rates in the future because you retired and no longer have tha...

+1 on thx1138 In short, Roth = Traditional if your current tax situation is same as in retirement, except yes, there are some small advantages to Roth: (1) if you contribute the maximum amount (which is same for them), more of your money is tax-advantaged (because of say 17k limit, only part of it b...

Imagine there were no tax differences but instead your Roth IRA balances were presented to you is US dollars, your taxable accounts in Australian dollars and your Traditional IRA / 401(k) in Canadian dollars, would you feel comfortable just adding these "dollars" up or setting AA based on ...

learning_head, I don't know if you realize it, but you have provided a simplified summary of the Reichenstein paper. Kevin Did not read this paper (thanks Taylor for the link) but it does not surprise me (I had communicated with him during my investigations on this back in 2009 and learned a lot fr...

This paper concludes by indicating that except in rare cases, investors should hold stocks in taxable accounts and bonds in retirement accounts . (underline mine) Thanks Taylor. For those still confused, here's a simple proof anyone should be able to follow/reproduce: Assumptions: Stock divs: 2%. S...

Hi Larry, aside from DFA funds (which require hiring an adviser), which funds would you recommend for capturing SV? I know you just mentioned BOSVX. Is there others? Similarly, if you could suggest some Int'l SV funds that you like outside of DFA, that would be great!

Yes, these are NQSOs (I edited OP to mention this too). I think I have 3 months after leaving company to exercise these though don't recall for sure. I will probably stay with the company for a while but yes, good to consider what happens if I don't.

Hi folks, would love some help with a choice that Mega-Corp is offering, i.e. a choice of RSUs or options: - take 1 RSU, or - take 4 stock options (NQ) - (could also split some RSUs / some stock options in whatever proportion I want but based on same 1-to-4 ratio as above) Both vest over 4 years (1/...

I think PEs have reliable predictive value when they reach very extreme levels either low or high. Extreme PEs directly reflect extreme investor sentiment levels, either pervasive panic or euphoria which is what drives net buying or selling of stocks and therefore PEs. Lowest PEs occur when all hop...

It's been said a number of times on these threads that P/E (and P/E10) have some predictive power, explaining maybe 40% of future returns where higher PEs imply lower returns in following 10 years. (In part, this is based on this Vanguard paper ). So, just knowing this, I would expect that when I lo...

On the question of present value of CPI-adjusted SPIA, would the CPI-adjusted nature of it make it easier to compute because instead of using a discount rate one has to guess, one can just use CPI itself? In other words, if I have $1000/year payment, CPI-adjusted, and my life expectancy is 30 years...

the UK based 'LifeStrategy' fund is too overweighted towards UK equities for my liking. Not sure how much is the overweighting there but... I think everyone may want to have a pretty large home-country bias. Perhaps non-US investors should have less of it due to smaller size of their home country m...

On the question of present value of CPI-adjusted SPIA, would the CPI-adjusted nature of it make it easier to compute because instead of using a discount rate one has to guess, one can just use CPI itself? In other words, if I have $1000/year payment, CPI-adjusted, and my life expectancy is 30 years,...

- Your premise that one must buy in 5 years. - You assumption: if payout ratios do not change over 5 years. One doesn't have to buy in 5 years (can wait 20 years until 65 or even later). The payout ratios will change. To retire early, without any other floor-expense protection (no pension to speak ...

Practical question... Say a working 45 year old (in relatively high tax bracket) wants to retire early at age 50 and wants to buy a CPI-adjusted SPIA annuity to cover basic needs in 5 years from taxable funds. Should they buy now (at 45) or buy later (at 50)? Summary : financially, they would be bet...

Thank you all, please keep them coming! I especially want to thank Bill M for the kind of info I was looking for. Bill, for Lincoln Financial, I had tried calling them but did not get very far (not being a financial advisor). Document that you linked is for specific age (65). So if you wanted to get...

Does anyone have any tips on how to efficiently collect CPI-adjusted SPIA quotes? I know I can call Vanguard and Fidelity. It appears some companies require only going through advisors. I tried sending request via web to principal financial and immediateannuities.com which does not list CPI-adjusted...

So, I was able to get through to a person at guarantee association and got this reply: Generally speaking, for covered annuities that are on benefit, a “present value” of the payments remaining on the annuity would be calculated as of the date of the triggering of the guaranty association. The prese...

Not an expert here but had similar situation and here is my take... Hello, I know this is probably basic, but I'm missing. I looked at http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=67303 and I'm still confused. In 2011 and 2012, we weren't eligible for a Roth, so I tried to do the backdoor Roth fo...

Suppose R40 didn't give a hoot about when she retired. Instead she came to you for advice in the following situation. I want very little risk in my portfolio, but I want the portfolio to consist 100% of emerging market small cap stocks. What AA advice would you give? Might you consider suggesting t...

I appreciate your response grayfox... I guess this is the best R40 can do... Unfortunately, I don't think it's realistic just because of this: Make a guess about inflation, Say 3% inflation per year. (Actually inflation expectations are more like 2.5% right now, so 3% has a margin for error.) BTW, y...

I've looked at http://www.nolhga.com and http://www.annuityadvantage.com/stateguarantee.htm but have not found an explanation of what do state associations actually cover for inflation-adjusted SPIAs... Hoping some folks on this board would know... Say, in a state with $250,000 limit on "presen...

If you do not have flexibility in the retirement age, LCF says as you approach retirement you should be taking very little risk, because that inflexibility gives you very little risk capacity. Hi BobK, The point of the question was HOW IN PRACTICE with TODAY's products could R40 take the least amou...

BobK, thank you so much for all the info and great posts. I have a similar kind of question as Richard. Let's imagine a simple scenario: someone with wierd name R40 who wants to retire at 40 and provide a floor of $25k/year. I think following assumptions would be reasonable: - R40 accumulated $300K...

There is not any strategy that can help much, if you are only going to work to age 40, or even 50. There are simply too few years of work compared to many years of expected retirement. You have to be either wealthy, or be willing to live a simple inexpensive lifestyle in retirement. Thanks for your...

BobK, thank you so much for all the info and great posts. I have a similar kind of question as Richard. Let's imagine a simple scenario: someone with wierd name R40 who wants to retire at 40 and provide a floor of $25k/year. I think following assumptions would be reasonable: - R40 accumulated $300K ...

I tried using IRS freefile site for 1116 and it got rejected with this code: "Issue : Business Rule F1116-012 - If for any country in Form 1116, Line 2 'ForeignIncRelatedExpensesAmt' has a non-zero value, then [ForeignIncmRelatedExpensesStmt] must be attached to Line 2. The following informatio...

Hi grabiner, HouseBlend, I think one of our big questions here has been for state taxes on line 2: - do we account for just 2013 state taxes (in full), or - do we account for part of 2013 / part of 2012 state taxes as reflected on Schedule A, line 5 I think reasons to think that line 5 of Schedule A...

@HouseBlend: Thanks for response. I corrected my earlier post based on it. Only other difference I wanted to note is that [Full foreign income + State Taxed Income - Federal AGI] formula I came up with (thanks for correcting it) only applies when State Taxed Income <= US sourced part of Federal AGI....

@sscritic: you are right, thanks for catching - I should not have said "modified 2013 AGI". I remove "modified" word. It does not change my (and OP's) main question though: why are we combining numbers from line 5 of Schedule A (which is a combination of state tax related payment...

So, for state taxes - do you mind answering my question #2? I think part of your reply already suggests that indeed effective state tax rate for current year is needed to properly get the number (i.e. as current year 2013 state tax rate * total foreign sourced income in 2013)... Would you put this ...

Hi grabiner, You need to determine what fraction of your taxable income was foreign. For VWO and VEA, since Vanguard website says "The foreign income percentage for this fund was 100%.", I believe ALL of their reported qualified and non-qualified reported numbers are foreign-sourced, right...

No, I don't have Turbo Tax but when I did try it in 2011, it did NOT come up with correct numbers - it double counted real estate taxes on lines 3a and 3b, and I think put State taxes on line 3a instead of line 2 (and also mishandled early withdrawal penalty too) according to my notes... So, I would...

Hi folks, I apologize for long post but I have very specific questions. I am hoping some of the detail-oriented members here that like to go into nitty-gritty details might have had similar questions in the past and/or know how to resolve them... Also, below is a scenario that might be applicable to...

Wonder if anyone has updates on this? I am confused just as OP about line 9b on 8960. If I am to follow the instructions, it looks like I can deduct Schedule A line 5 state income tax (which in turn has some payments for 2012 income and other payments are for 2013 income) and then, to find part that...

Has anyone had any experience with this? http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertberger/2014/02/24/3-stealth-retirement-savings-moves-for-the-wealthy/?ss=personalfinance Finally, for self-employed individuals, a personal defined benefit plan may enable you to save more than $100,000 a year in a tax-deferr...